1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a removable and transferable resilient grip for use on handles and bars of various types, such as bars used by weight lifters to hold weights which bars are of various sizes so that progressive resistance exercising can be performed. The grip wraps around the bar or handle and is held in place by an adhesively attached hook and loop fastener such as the type sold under the trademark VELCRO.RTM. fasteners. The use of grips according to the invention obviates the need for gloves to maintain a safe and firm grasp. Gloves may typically become slick during use and wet from the user's perspiration, making maintenance of a firm grasp on the bar or handle difficult.
Grips according to the present invention may also be used on various other sports-related and household products and tools to provide a firm grip on the handle and to reduce the formation of callouses and blisters. When the grips are brightly colored, they enhance visibility and increase safety when used on bicycles and all-terrain vehicles. Bright coloration also lessens the chance of losing items such as small tools such as trowels, picks, hoes and other garden tools when they are lying in the grass.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Weight-lifting bars are frequently knurled in the area where the user grips the bar in order to reduce slippage between the hands and the bar. When exercising in warm weather or in heated gymnasiums, the user's hands may rapidly become damp due to perspiration and knurling becomes ineffective to reduce slippage. Gloves have been and are being used to increase gripping power, but they tend to become slick with use and further encourage perspiration and prevent evaporation of moisture from the skin.
Other devices designed to make the gripping of a bar safer and more secure are known in the art. Specifically, Troutman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,731, teaches a grip system that moves axially on the bar to facilitate gripping while performing lifts that require movement of the hands relative to each other during the exercise, but does not address maintaining a firm grip during use.
Oren, U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,405, teaches a grip assembly which enables free movement of the wrists and hands in order to meet requirements of a specific exercise, but does not address maintaining a firm grip as the user perspires during repeated lifts. With respect to prior art grips for bicycle handles and handles on all-terrain vehicles, these grips are usually provided on the vehicle when purchased and slip over the ends of the handles. The material of these grips is generally a semi-hard rubber or plastic or in the case of sport bikes, may consist of long narrow strips of plastic which are wound in overlapping fashion along the entire length of the handlebar to provide a gripping surface. Household and garden tools having bar-shaped handles are usually made of hardwoods or for kitchen use may be of hard plastic.